Te Puke High School ball brings the community out

The prom king and queen, princes and princesses. Photo / Oh Joy! Photography

Te Puke High School’s ball is more than just a school event.

Held each year at Te Puke Memorial Hall, arrival at the ball in style is a priority for students and the pre-ball red carpet also draws the community out to watch.

The ball is for Year 12, 13 and international students and is organised by a committee, overseen by teacher Steph Davids. She says this year’s ball — with a masquerade theme — was one of the bigger ones.

“We had over 220 attending this year,” she says.

Students arrived at the ball in a wide range of vehicles. Photo / Oh Joy! Photography

She says the variety of vehicles ball-goers arrived in was “amazing”.

“There were classic cars, fire trucks, big lorries, all sorts of things.”

A large group of international students had arrived at the school only a week before the ball.

“So they had five days of school, then the ball.”

Due to ongoing limits on travel, there were no international students at the high school last year, and in 2021 the ball had to be cancelled just days before its staging due to Covid 19 restrictions.

“So this is the fifth one I have been involved in organising, but the fourth to actually go ahead.”

Te Puke High School Te Roopu Taurahere (Māori student mentoring programme) mentor Te Whetu Hawera arrives at the ball with mokopuna Nevaeh (left) and Willah. Photo / Oh Joy! Photography

Te Roopu Taurahere (Māori student mentoring programme) mentor Te Whetu Hawera’s mokopuna attend the school and she was able to travel with them to the ball.

“There were a lot of just special moments like that,” says Steph.

Having the ball in such a prominent building adds to the occasion.

“It means not only is it our school community coming together, but the wider Te Puke community as well.

“I think that’s the really cool part. It’s such a big part of the Te Puke calendar, having the community come out and watch and cheer for the kids and the fact that they get their moment on the red carpet’s pretty special.”

Te Whetu Hawera with Te Roopu Taurahere students and a photo of group member Vaishali McNeil who died earlier this year. Photo / Oh Joy! Photography

The committee was full of enthusiastic students.

“We had an amazing committee again this year — they are the ones that plan what they want for the food, they plan the decorations, they create the invites themselves. I’m really just there guiding and supporting, they’ve been planning for most of this year.”